ahaha i dont know about dat.. firstly, i gotta say, the whole trip was a total nightmare.. but thinking back, it was really really fun n a great experience so i might just think about going for kinabalu after all.. after some training of course.. haha
okay, for those of u who dont know, a bunch of us (n this includes lin-dy, cuz n me) went on a hiking trip to gunung nuang yesterday, which i just found out is ONLY 1493m.. feels more like 1493 km
yeah so anyway, we got to taylor's at 0700 but we went around hunting for raincoats plus the car ride there was about an hr, so we only got there maybe about 0830? n we started our hike at around 0840.. forgot to stretch my legs before starting the climb so within the first 10 mins, my leg muscles were aching like crazy.. but i didnt want to get left behind so i forced myself to go on even though all i wanted to do was sit down.. plus i was wearing like, tennis shoes so the soles were quite slippery so i kept slipping n my ankles were like, strained...
wait let me get this straight first.. in sec 3&4, i was in drama club.. in sec 2, i was in comp club, in fm2 i was in interact n before dat, i was in geog club.. so u get the picture, im not a very sporty person.. the only sport i play is pool.. n the only exercise i normally hav is walking my dog.. ahahaha yeah, dat means my stamina sucks big time... hahah
back to the story, after about 1 1/2 - 2 hrs, we got to the first campsite n i was like, wheeee!! can rest but since lin-dy n i got there last, the others hav already rested so we had to move on ): okayyy, there's still the 2nd campsite which wasnt too far off.. maybe about an hr away? can tahan!!
so we got to the 2nd campsite n it was b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l! ive never seen a real waterfall before, i mean a natural one dat is n i was like going ga-ga for a few secs there.. haha yeah i noe, wat a jakun! n in less than 5 mins, we had to move on AGAIN..
by that time, my muscles were used to it so it wasnt too bad, i started feeling less tired amazingly.. so we walked n we walked n we walked.. till we reached this part where it started getting rocky n i had difficulty climbing up again cos it was steep AND slippery.. lin-dy, cuz n wen harn were really really nice, they waited for me.. wen harn's a really great guy, he was walking behind me n i was like, "ehhh, im really scared la, u'd better walk in front of me in case i slip, i dont want to make u fall too" n he replied, "it's okay, if u fall, we'll fall together".. so sweet rite! yeah so whenever i wanted to rest, he'll push me from behind to force me to continue n when we reached these 2 particularly unbelievably steep section (which i still cant believe i climbed it), he walked in front of me n offered his hand to help me up every 5 seconds or so.. n dat wasnt all, he found a stick n he gave it to me..
funny moment during the climb:
lin-dy: is there anyone selling drinks up there?
wen harn: of course not -.-
me: ahaha cant u bluff us to motivate us?! haha
cuz : okay, there are cute guys up there!!
me: oooh! is he up there too???
cuz : of course!! TWO of them!!
me: ahahaha yay!
cuz: although i can imagine wat two of him would be doing up there..
ahahaha im sure u can figure dat last part out for urself.. hahaha.. n if u cant, here's a hint: cuz is convinced he's gay.. haha
so finally finally after sooo sooo sooo long, we got to pacat camp, our third n last campsite before the peak! despite its name, there arent really leeches there.. i was ready to give up, to just sit there cos i was contented i made it this far but the when they told me it's just another 1 1/2 hrs more, i changed my mind...
oh n when we were up there, nicholas told us this really silly joke.. wat's the diff between a guy who fell from the 2nd storey n a guy who fell from the 20th storey? the guy from the 2nd storey would go "*piak* aaaaaaaaahhh!!!" whereas the guy from the 20th would go "aaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!! *piak*" hahahaha it's lame, but funny!! haha
so against my better judgement, we left 10 - 15 mins later for the final part of the journey up.. again, lin-dy, cuz n i were last, no surprises there since they've got me.. haha after much sweat n dirt, we made it to the first peak!! it wasnt easy, i tell u.. there was this part dat was so steep, i nearly fainted.. lin-dy n i estimated for it to be approx 60 - 80 degrees.. to make matters worse, it started raining around 1400, n half of both the soles of my shoes came off.. it was a miracle how I got up there, wat wif my lack of stamina n spoilt shoes.. i literally had to crawl on my hands n knees to get to the top..
but we didnt manage to make it to the 2nd peak cos of the following 10 cases:
1. i left my stick behind in campsite 3 so i had to turn back to retrieve it, which made us lag behind the rest
2. cuz was hungry so he stopped to eat
3. i had to stop to stick chewing gum on the base of my shoe to keep the sole n shoe together
4. lin-dy's mum smsed her
5. i had to stick chewing gum on the base of my shoe AGAIN
6. cuz was hungry again, n i was tired, n lin-dy was trying to call her mum so we stopped
7. cuz had leg cramp
8. i got tired again
9. it started raining again
10. lin-dy caught a cold due to the rain
so yup, due to the 10 cases above, we decided dat since we're so far behind, we'd never be able to make it in time.. we were like, 30 mins away n someone told us dat the rest'll turning back in 10 mins.. we figured there's no point in continuing so we stopped halfway between the 2 peaks to eat n rest to regain our energy..
the first part of going down was all right, we rested so we were ready to tackle it.. but after about an hr, my nightmare came to life, we got to this slippery area n i just couldnt go down because both the soles of my shoes came off.. can u imagine? the base of my shoes were like smooth.. plus i havent mentioned it before, i hav this phobia for falling down (if there's such a phobia) cos when i was young, i always slip n fall n somehow knock my head in the process.. so i hav this fear dat whenever the ground's slippery, id fall n knock my head.. so i slid down most of the way or climbed slowly down but both processes were so long dat before long, we were lagging again.. so lin-dy tried to convince me to walk down but i was so scared, she had to hold my hand the whole time so dat i wont fall.. yeah i noe im such a baby but we all hav our own fears rite?
to make matters worse, it started pouring again n this time, i really really couldnt risk walking down so it was back to sliding.. it was gross, the muddy water went down my neck n into my pants but i didnt care cos all i wanted to do was get back to the others.. after a while, lin-dy got me back on my feet again but all the sliding n climbing made me dizzy n i had this headache.. luckily we had this kind gentleman who accompanied us to make sure dat we dont get lost n he even helped me carry my bag..
after 3 - 4 hrs, we FINALLY got to the 3rd campsite but by then the others hav gone down.. luckily mr yap was there, he helped me down to the 2nd campsite.. i had to cling on to his bag to make sure i dun slip n it took a really really long time plus i kept falling down n pulling him wif me, i felt soo baddddd... at 1800, lin-dy asked mr yap how long more it'll take for us to get to the bottom n when he said another 3 hrs, i nearly fainted..
it got dark rapidly n i felt terrible for holding the rest back, we were supposed to reach the car park around 2030 maybe.. i was cold, exhausted n ive never felt more miserable in my whole life before n right then, i wanted to burst into tears.. trust me, i dun cry easily so it showed how scared i really was.. i wont deny that there were times i even considered just staying there n refusing to get down at all.. but then i realised how ridiculous dat was, i couldnt let the rest down, not after already making them wait ages for me... sorry! in my defense, i wasnt thinking rationally at that time due to fear.. so when i got my senses back, i gritted my teeth n made up my mind to overcome my fears..
the rest of the way went the same, sliding, crawling down n clinging to mr yap's bag.. by the time we got to the 2nd campsite, my arms were so weak, i could barely hold on to his bag any longer.. luckily campsite 2 wasnt too far from campsite 1... when we got to campsite 2, i was handed over to mr munin, who brought me safely back to the dam where cuz n the rest were.. haha n i made mr munin fall down once too -.-
boy, was i glad to see the others.. thank goodness cuz had enough sense to bring an extra pair of slippers so i gladly took off my sole-less shoes in exchange for the slippers.. the soles of slippers didnt hav dat much grip either but it was still better than my shoes..
n from there, cousin held my hand n led me all the way back to campsite 1 where we rested for a few minutes before making our way down again.. cuz is the sweetest, he held my hand all the way back because even though it wasnt dat slippery, i was still quite scared..
but towards the last part of our journey, the route got slippery again.. i kept sliding n clinging on to him n we fell down a couple of times but he didnt even complain, not once.. n then we had another problem, the batteries of our torches were dying n the lights got quite dim, the rest could barely make out the way.. luckily for us, cuz n i seemed to hav inherited cats' genes n were able to see in the dark without much difficulty.. although it got quite tiring after a while, wat wif all the straining.. yes, we had to strain our eyes too even though we could see better in the dark than anyone else.. plus everytime someone's torch flashes at our path, our eyes hav to get used to the dark all over again n this takes some time..
n at 2300, we saw car's headlights!! we were so joyful, it was like oasis in a desert.. it was a wonder i didnt kiss the ground in delight.. nothing could describe our feelings just then.. n when mr yap passed us mango drinks (i dun like mango drinks btw) i grabbed it n gulped it down n i was like, mango never tasted better..
yup, so thanx to me, our supposedly 12-hr trip turned into a 15-hr one.. gomenasai everyone!! even if i apologised a zillion times, id still feel bad about it.. so as a way to say sorry n thanx, i guess ill write the report so we'll all appear in taylor's newsletter, yes? (:
as for me, id really hav to say (i noe it's such a cliche) it was truly an unforgettable experience.. normally for me, i wouldnt even dare to touch the bottom of leaves in case there r like caterpillars crawling beneath them, but yesterday, i had no choice but to overcome dat fear by grabbing on to roots n stems of plants to support myself n even holding on to moss-covered rocks (trust me, i even hate to go near moss in swimming pools).. besides that, i even got my very first leech bite (haha.. i noe it's NOT a great thing), i got to see my very first natural waterfall n i took my very first sip of stream water.. haha although i refused to drink it at first, i was too desperate n it tasted just like normal water n i didnt get any stomachache... oh n i saw luminous mushrooms for the first time ever too!! they were so pretty, like tiny blue stars on the ground.. haha anyway, id sum it up by saying that it was a test of strength, endurance n faith, at least to me it felt that way..
n im gonna start jogging more often now!! dat is, if i want to conquer gunung kinabalu which is twice as high or gunung tahan which is twice as hard.. n this time round, i refuse to be last or become a burden to anyone.. haha
P.S. n special thanx to wen harn, lin-dy n cousin for everything u guys did for me.. maybe it wasnt much to you, but it meant everything to me cos if it werent for u guys, i wouldnt hav made it.. (:(:
n also thanx to a very very special person.. when my stamina died on me long ago, You were the only one who kept me going.. so THANK YOU GOD! so even though im a free thinker, i believe that i wouldnt have made it through if it wasnt for You.
You are magnificent eternally
Glorious, wonderful, Jesus
Nothing ever will compare
To You, Jesus
shall post up pics later when i get it from the rest..
